


Pieces of a Story

by SkyTheLoner



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Blue Zircon is the best mom, Canon Compliant, Coming of Age, Crystal Gem Pearl belongs to a pink sapphire, Drama, Exactly What It Says on the Tin, Fluff, Gen, I'll just edit this randomly, Mom Zircon, Not Canon Compliant, One Shot Collection, One-shots not related to each other unless stated, Only slightly plotless, Pink Diamond is slightly evil, Pre-Canon, Pre-Gem War, Rating is somewhere between G and T, Some one-shots are canon compliant some are not, Spoilers, Spoilers for Episode: s05e18 A Single Pale Rose, i think...
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-09
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2018-12-25 20:01:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12043218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyTheLoner/pseuds/SkyTheLoner
Summary: A collection of Steven Universe one-shots that slightly veered off from their original plot(and I don't know what to do with them) or are incomplete.(Exactly what it says on the tin.)[The rating is somewhere between G and T.]





	1. The Warning

**Author's Note:**

> **Hey, this a collection of unrelated one-shots.**
> 
> **Some of these are incomplete and this is somewhat of a place for anything I didn't want to finish, but didn't what to abandon.**
> 
> **Some - like the first one - was made before certain characters and information was revealed, so some might not be canon compliant.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Now noncanon due to the newest episode(A Single Pale Rose).**
> 
> **-Our (Crystal Gem) pearl is Pink Sapphire's pearl in this**
> 
> This story was going to be longer and include the pairing of Blue Diamond's Pearl/Pearl, but I changed my mind. The guest that was going to arrive with Pink Diamond was going to be Blue Diamond, and if I decide to extend this and add another chapter, I would have given a spoiler. But I'm lazy, so I'll likely never complete this.
> 
> Although, this fanfiction would have probably just been preslash or a one-sided crush, so...

Pearl Facet 021 Cut GX3 belonging to a high ranking sapphire of Pink Diamond's court was waiting. She waited silently, her sharp gaze taking in the tower's writings and pictures that tell the tale of what is going to happen. The sapphire that owned her is an powerful gem of Pink Diamon's court, her protection being a very important, causing quite a few quartzes to be order to guard her as they waited for her Diamond. The rose quartz beside her nodded as the sound of her master's footsteps caught her attention, her gaze unreadable and calm. Pink Sapphire's pearl saluted to the warrior, bowing lowly, not meeting her gaze.

"Pearl." The word is laced with a calm, strong tone, holding power almost akin to her beautiful Diamond, so Pink Sapphire's pearl twirled in her toes, spinning around to bow, her movements fluid. There's a tense silence, and Pink Sapphire's pearl knew that everyone was watching the huge, floral patterned door on one side of the room. The few agates and quartz soldiers around them clear a path for Pink Sapphire's pearl to return to her master after she took a moment to calm her mind. Her master's visions must certainly be a omen of death.

Pink Sapphire's pearl walked carefully over towards her master, avoiding the eyes of the guards as she did. The pale pink floors show her a reflection of her Sapphire's tense face - fearful, determined, and panicking under her façade of calmness. Pink Sapphire's pearl increased her speed.

Her Sapphire nodded to her to confirm she saw her, then she turned to face the other gems, her eyes hidden from the crowd, her elegant dress flowing out all around her, her mask perfected. Her Sapphire inhaled a breath slowly, and Pink Sapphire's pearl felt the ground hum under her slender shoes, an effect of her powers - the ability to manipulate soil, and an ability Pink Sapphire's pearl possessed on a much smaller scale though.

Pink Sapphire's pearl quickly recalled eight different ways she could calm her master down in her visions became to much again. This was a horrid omen indeed, and as far as Pink Sapphire's pearl knew, relating to Pink Diamond planned colony, located in an unnamed star system.

With a quick hand signal, her Sapphire commanded the soldiers to stand, waiting along the marble walls of the tower. After a moment of confusion and some orders from the agates, the rose quartzes and other quartz gems were in the correct place. Such a useless bunch, noted Pink Sapphire's pearl to herself when she noticed a lone rose quartz failing to join her group. An agate snapped something harshly, and the quartz flinched slightly, her eyes sharp as she informed the agate of something. Judging by the rose quartz's uniform, she was a high rank.

The agate's face turned a darker shade, and with a roll of her eyes, she growled something in a softer tone. The rose quartz nodded and joined her group at last.

Her Sapphire appeared worried by this and finally exhaled, the tension rippling through the air and ground - quite strongly for the latter. She glanced at the door, curious, waiting.

The tower was covered with paintings of her Diamond, her eyes holding more power than Pink Sapphire's pearl could dream of. One showed her standing side by side Blue Diamond, a soft lavender ring surrounding them both, making it common knowledge of the two Diamond's closeness.

She focused on her odd habit of breathing - in was not required, being a gem - and stared ahead of her, adjusting her outfit carefully. Then something happened that caused her to freeze, her eyes wide.

The ground stopped humming.

Her Sapphire stepped forward.

"Quartzes," she addressed the gems quietly, and they all turned and looked at her, waiting. Her voice was surprisingly calm. "Our Diamond with be arriving soon along a guest."

 _A_   _guest?_ Pink Sapphire's pearl wondered, glancing over at the tall door her Diamond would enter from. She turned to face her Sapphire, confused. She knew Pink Diamond was coming to visit to hear her Sapphire's omen of disaster - one so horrid that the other sapphires would not dare speak of or couldn't begin to speak of without breaking down, sobbing at their Diamond's feet. Ever since her Sapphire  _saw_  the vision, she had glanced at her oddly.

She wasn't quite used to singing so many songs of comfort in a single day yet.

 _"It's a prophecy of war,"_  they had muttered.

"She will enter-" Pink Sapphire's pearl shook her head, startled out of her thoughts. "-soon to hear my warning about the newest colony." Her Sapphire stepped back, leaning against the wall, holding a hand on her head, her mask fading.

She focused on a singular point inside her gem, shivering as she brought out a soft pillow, holding it carefully. Bowing to her Sapphire, she gently gave her master the pillow, and with a nod, her Sapphire reached out to grip it tightly. Pink Sapphire's pearl backed away from her master to let her recover, watching her carefully.

Her Sapphire placed the pillow on the pale floors and collapsed into it, body shivering violently. Her breathing quick, she attempted to calm herself as panic seized her tightly, making Pink Sapphire's pearl wonder if her visions were becoming more clear.

Shivering, her Sapphire whispered, "I fear for my Diamond's safety. I'm scared of this future, I'll admit." A crooked smile appeared on her pale face, and she laughed a bit, still trembling as she failed to control the visions clearly flashing before her. "Pearl?"

"Yes, my Sapphire?" She quickly bowed, waiting for her command.

"I..." Her Sapphire paused, thinking. "I saw you in these visions, Pearl." Her voice was so soft, so cold. Yet her Sapphire laughed again. "You looked so pretty waving around your little flag - your eyes alight."

Pink Sapphire's pearl froze.

"Now..."

Pink Sapphire's pearl heard footsteps, causing her to quickly turn around and face the doors. The ground began to hum again, and she knew it was not because of her Sapphire; it was too strong, causing the floor to shift slightly under her feet, yet she didn't stumble.

Pearls never stumbled.

"Good pearl," her Sapphire said, her voice gentle and sickening.

The pictures on the walls shifted, distorting Pink Diamond's gem, making it appear cracked or shattered. But the Diamonds were paragons - their gems could not be harmed. Her Sapphire noticed the pictures as well and frowned, announcing softly, "They enter."

Then the doors opened.

She stood there, her pearl beside her, and she stared down at her Sapphire, a frown on her lips. She towered above everyone in the room, her mane of hair a dark hue of pink, fluffy and short, her eyes showing curiousness of her Sapphire's news. Her pearl bowed perfectly, almost a mirror of her Diamond, a cutout in her outfit revealing the perfectly round pearl on her stomach.

Pink Sapphire's pearl was now very aware of her imperfect gem on her forehead. She watched both the pearl and her Diamond, her azure eyes unblinking.

Pink Diamond's pearl raised up, her gaze passing over everyone in the room. "My beautiful Diamond wishes to speak to Pink Sapphire Facet 04 Cut VZ4." She bowed again.

Pink Diamond raised a hand, beckoning her Sapphire forward, an earthy stair case rising, and she looked a her master, her pink gaze unreadable, her head tilted in curiosity. Pink Diamond waited for her to step forward.

"So, you are the only one who can speak of this omen," she said, half to herself.

Pink Sapphire walked forward slowly, leaving her trailing behind her, head bowed. Her footsteps echoed in the silence as she walked across the shining pink floors, her thoughts drifting to her Sapphire's message of a guest - it wasn't her pearl, clearly. The agates on either side of the huge room watched their Diamond carefully, while the quartzes casually leaned on the grey, painted walls. The amethysts - the ones gifted to her Diamond by Yellow Diamond - stared at her through narrowed eyes.

Her Sapphire reached the stairs, and she stopped following, bowing. Her attention turned to Pink Diamond's pearl, who stood beside her Diamond. The pearl waited silently, her gaze tracking her carefully, causing Pink Sapphire's pearl's body to become stiff as stone. She was judging.

"My Diamond," greeted her Sapphire softly, her shaking just a bit. Keeping her head down, she could almost sense the slight pity on her Diamond's face, clear in her tone:

"Your visions, my sapphire?" she questioned, and the floor shifted more. She continued, "All of the others break down, sobbing before they can tell me much; I feel a bit sorry for them - seeing even the most indifferent one in tears." Pink Sapphire's pearl shivered.

"My Diamond," began her Sapphire, "I foresee a war."

Pink Sapphire's pearl blinked, slightly surprised that the rumors were true. So did the others see death? Or worse? Sapphire's were trained to control their visions and to not flinch away from the carnage they saw.

The towering Diamond doesn't show any reaction to her prized sapphire's claim. "I'm aware." Her voice is tense, and she absentmindedly dragged her elegant gloved fingers through her silky hair, frowning.

"I see damage done to the Kindergartens. The rebellion ends on an arena, but..."

"But?" her Diamond echoed. Her Sapphire's future vision was a strange thing - so much more detailed than the others.

Taking a breath, she continued, "It inspires more rebellion."

Pink Diamond's face changed to show her disgust. Her pearl gasped. "Ah..." she muttered softly, seeming to understand.

"Or... perhaps I am mistaken," she quickly added. Her Sapphire saluted to her Diamond, bowing so low that her hair brushed the ground.

Pink Diamond was thinking. Her dark eyes were narrowed slightly in thought, and she inhaled a breath slowly, her head tilted slightly. With a wave of her gloved hand, the stairs disappear and every gem - except her, her Diamond, her pearl, and her Sapphire - in the tower is surrounded by dirt. "No one else shall listen."

There is silence. Pink Sapphire's pearl doesn't like the way the floor shifted like liquid under her shoes. Looking at the pale floor, she expected to find the floor turning into a lake, but it's not. She inhaled, then exhaled quickly, looking up at her Sapphire in alarm.

"And, my beautiful Diamond I s-see your pearl's shards on the ground, broken by a quartz." Her Sapphire is trembling violently, seeming very distressed by her visions. The ground under her nearly split, cracks racing across it swiftly. They traveled around the small gem slowly, jagged and sharp.

Her Sapphire slowly sat on the ground, her face blank with fear, and even if her eyes is hidden, she knew her Sapphire was lost somewhere else.

 _She's losing control of her visions,_  Pink Sapphire's pearl realized suddenly, trying the use her powers to build a staircase up to her. She can't. Because she's a pearl.

" _Everyone... they're broken. They will die - so many gems."_  Her voice was soft. "The first Kindergarten will be destroyed in 489 years, then everyone will die."

"Sapphire," interrupted Pink Diamond, waving a hand to allow Pink Sapphire's pearl to go and comfort her master. Her dress was covered in dirt and mud and bits of floor, steaming down the pink and brown dress. "I will call you later," she told her, her eyes showing just a bit of pity. "In the meantime, calm yourself. That will be all." And the tower returned to normal, the world shifting under her.

Pink Sapphire's pearl sighed in relief, walking towards her master, bowing. She struggled to ignored the shocked look on the other gems faces. "My Sapphire, shall we return to your room so that you may calm your mind?"

Nodding, her Sapphire stumbled away.

Pink Sapphire's pearl followed, loyally as ever.


	2. The Starless Sky Above Us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is some sort of AU

The dull, pulsing pain from somewhere in his head is what brought him into anything close to by awake, and he knew this couldn't be an afterlife of any kind, sense he already died before. The pain was almost echoing around in the back of his skull, numbed, yet still real. There was a duller pain in his neck, though he chose to ignore it for now. His thoughts were surprisingly slurred, as if he had been drugged - not that he knew what  _that_  felt like, but still - and while he could feel his body, he was immobilized. Some instinct told him to find out where exactly he was, and he tried to do just that.

Only that was easier said - or thought, whatever - then done, Lars noted as he attempted to open his eyes. At least now his other senses were becoming stronger the long he waited. His leg twitched slightly in response to some stranger - a gem, he realized - poked him gently, then they patted his fluffy interdimensional hair. Their hand didn't enter the dimension though, so that sort of confirmed his theory that only Steven could enter.

Speaking of Steven, where was that little hybrid human? And Connie or even Stevonnie? And the Off-colors, where did they go when-

Lars' slowly beating, magic heart felt like it had just ceased moving when he realized that his memory of everything in the past few hours was just a blurr of sound and color. Some parts where clearer than others, like that Stevonnie had indeed formed, wielding Rose Quartz's alien sworld and Steven's shield, ready to defend him if needed. And, judging by his current condition, had been defeated. He and Stevonnie had been defending themselves from a foe, though Lars could only recall Emerald's enraged voice growling something at them.

So that explained why his head was hurting, he realized, though why did these aliens keep him alive? He hissed in annoyance when the unknown gem touched the sore part of his head, and there was reply he couldn't understand yet.

"Hello?" he attempted to ask, though whatever came out of his mouth sounded like a meaningless noise. His mouth felt weird and numb. Though, his question did get a response from the gem, who through his barely opened eyes, he identified as a purple blur with some blue. He attempted to open his eyes more, even though it hurt with the bright light shining down. Were they going to dissect him? Besides Steven's pet lion, unoriginal named Lion, he was the only magic pink creature he knew of.

The purple blur muttered something to themselves, ruffling his pink hair once more before the stepped outside of his view. Unfortunately for Lars, this purple magic gemstone alien was his only companion in this weird place. He opened his eyes more, still mostly blinded, trying to reach for the gem weakly.

The gem said something, sounding slightly amused, and his face began to heat up as he tried to glare at them. The damn purple alien finally returned to stand beside him, and he waited for his strength to come back.

Lars finally had enough faith in his weak, slightly magic body to attempt to ask, "Help?"

The gem appeared to type something on a screen, though that didn't make sense to his confused brain because the screen was floating in midair. Though he was on an alien planet, so maybe that made sense. The alien continued to type, probably taking notes on his weird magicness of something. The alien, who he could see better now, was purple and looked like she could break every bone in his body, wearing a blue uniform with diamonds on it. Her hair was a pale lavender color; her arms looked so strong, it looked as if she went to the gym everyday for the pass 500 years.

The gem glanced at him, causing him to look away nervously. "Hey." Her voice sounded a lot like Amethyst, he's heard her enough when she tried to beg for free donuts. His throat is dryer than a desert now, and he coughed, glacing at the pink walls.

The gem smiled. "I'm Amethyst Facet 5 Cut 3XK."

Lars remembered Amethyst from the Crystal Gems, and he wondered if she and whoever this was were related. Sure, they're alien gemstones, but wouldn't they have the same minerals or something? Steven called other Rose Quartzes his aunts, so that made them his alien mom's sisters. He mentioned a zoo, right? Whatever, that wasn't important right now. "What?" There was no way he could remember that weird, long name.

"Call me 3XK."

 _Weird name,_  he thought. Maybe it was an ID code or whatever. Lars nodded weakly, pressing a hand against his head, feeling a small painful bump on the back of it. So did he get hit in the head or something? He shut his eyes for moment, breathing a bit faster now, the shock and confusion fading away now, and he was beginning to become very scared. Where were the others? Steven was with him before they got  _here._ Him and 3XK were the only ones in the weird pink room, that now reminded him of a hospital room.

An alien hospital?

He was laying on a soft pink bed of sorts, covered in a purple blanket. He struggled to remove said blanket, his fingers and hands failing to move half of the time. He struggled a bit more in vain, a weird feeling rising in his chest, though he ignored it and shoved the blanket away.

"Hey," the amethyst said gently and grabbed his blanket as he glared at it. "You need rest, human."

"Lars."

3XK blinked, confused. "Pardon?"

"That's my name."

The amethyst nodded, wrapping the soft blanket around him, and Lars sighed. He held himself up with an arm, though it trembled. "Where is everyone else?"

"That human friend of yours, Stevonnie-"

"Are they okay?" Lars asked her fearfully and loudly, the words suddenly leaving his mouth against his will, memories suddenly rushing into his mind, and he clenched the blanket tightly, hardly daring to breath now. The fusion had told him to run, right? He had to go somewhere, and his memory was still scrambled like the egg he ate for breakfast a week ago.

3XK's eyes widened at his sudden outburst, taking a step back - Lars found that mildly amusing that an alien was scared of  _him_ , but then felt guilty. The gem stared at him, nodded, and she typed something on the hologram screen still floating in front of her. There were weird symbols that Lars recognized as gem writing, though he couldn't read it. The gem didn't say anything as she gently grabbed his wrist, checking his pulse, frowning. She typed something else, her purple gaze confused and a bit worried.

"Do you feel as if you might fall unconscious?" 3XK questioned him suddenly.

"What..." Lars muttered, confused. "No." Then he quickly added, "Sorry for startling you. I... was worried about them." If this alien is the only companion he has, then he better be nice to her.

3XK nodded and told him, "Hey, so I have to go get some supplies from somewhere else, I'll be back in a minute or two, okay?"

"Supplies for what?" he questioned curiously, a bit nervous.

"To check if you're alright, because your heart beat is super slow, and yet... You seem fine."

"I am fine," he replied a bit curtly, then blushed, muttering an apology to her.

"Yeah, well Holly Blue told me that  _she_  told her to find out what happened to you, so..." 3XK shrugged, making the hologram screen disappear with a wave of her hand. "Peridot Cut 2XR can tell you more about your human friend's condition, alright?"

"Where am I?" he asked. "And where's Stevonnie? Who's Peridot Cut 2XR?"

"A room, somewhere, a peridot."

"Can you give me some actual damn answers that tell me something useful?" he hissed, and he finally collapsed on the bed, his arm seemingly burning with exhaustion. He was confused when he saw the grin on the purple gem's face.

"So the drugs have worn off enough for you to get ticked off about my answers," she noted, amused. Glancing at the anger and slightly panicked look on his face, she added, "2XR can answer all of those questions. Holly Blue didn't give me permission to answer those types of questions. Holly Blue is in charge of me."

"Who's in charge of her?" He paused. "Wait, I was drugged by aliens?!"

"Yeah," 3XK replied casually, turning around. "I can't answer that first question."

"Why not?" Lars used his other arm to sit up, his head hurting a bit more.

3XK shrugged, asking, "So, why are you pink? Well," she added, "more then humans usually are."

"Pink alien magic." His voice was blunt and monotone.

The gem laughed just a bit. "Okay."

The gem pressed one of her hands on the pink room's wall, which lit up under her hand. She put in a password of sorts, and a large section of the wall glowed and disappeared, leaving Lars shocked. 3XK walked through the magic door, waving to him. "I'll be back in ten minutes max."

"Umm... bye!" Lars called awkwardly waving back.

3XK left the pink room, leaving Lars alone and scared. His memory was scrambled, he didn't know what happened to him, and he didn't knew what happened to the Off-colors. He pushed the pale blanket off of him again, surprised he was still wearing the clothes he stole, minus the cool-looking cape. He must have been hit in the head by something or someone. He sat up all the way on the bed, noticing a lavender pillow, stained with... was that his blood?

His blood was way more pink now, though it still looked like blood. He winced, the memory of getting that injury starting to come back slowly. A big, blue gem, with hair that reminded him of a cat's ears, had smacked him, then-

Then he woke up.

Oh... Lars rubbed his head slowly, sighed, about ready to cry when he heard something from the other side of the wall.  _2XR?_  he wondered, wiping his eyes, feeling the scar running over one of them.

The door(?) opened slowly, revealing the hallway, which was also pink. The gem that opened the door, however, was not.

She was definitely familiar to him, he realized as he looked at the green gemstone on her chest, right below her neck, and he recognized the triangular shape of her gem from the forehead of one of Steven's alien friends. The uniform was familiar; the same one was on 3XK.

The gem - another peridot, though this one was taller with floating fingers - walked into the pink room, glancing at Lars with an unreadable look on her face, before she turned to close to door.

The peridot was a bit shorter than 3XK with lime green hair that looked diamond shaped, her fingers a similar color, though they were five floating cylinders. She wore some type of green boots on her feet and something similar on her hands. Two of her fingers floated up to adjust her green tinted visor, and her seemingly green eyes caught sight of him. She looked a bit interested, like she wanted to start dissecting him right then, but simply made a salute that he remembered one of the others doing to a pilot right before they stole the Sun Incinerator.

"Umm..." He copied the salute quickly, then waved. The Peridot, 2XR, nodded.

"Hello, human..." Four of her robot finger floated up and a screen appeared between them, and she checked something on her alien database. "...Lars."

He nodded and replied, a bit nervous, "Hello, 2XR."

"Yes." She checked the screen again. "You are conscious, and it can be safely assumed that the drug has worn off." She glaced at him questioningly, and he nodded, then shrugged. "My Diamond has told me to inform you of the recovery of the human known as Stevonnie."

"My memory's all messed up or something, were they hurt badly or..."

"They are not a risk of dying, but they have a cut on their upper arm and an electric burn."

He froze, his heart nearly stopping. "Can I punch whoever hurt them?" Lars asked, becoming angry and more worried.

"Sadly, not now."

"Damn."

"They are currently recovering from their injuries in Room Four Alpha and are healing quickly. Their estimated recovery time is three Earth rotations, much faster than normal, due to the equipment here." 2XR looked at them, pausing. "No, you may not visit them now." The peridot's floating robot fingers returned to her hand, and she watched him carefully, her eyes slightly narrowed.

"Where are we exactly?" he finally asked her.

She replied calmly, "Pink Diamond's zoo."

"What?"

"You and the other human were in a ship with the off-colors rebels."

"Yeah." Lars was starting to become nervous about what happened. "The Sun Incinerator, right?"

The peridot nodded, flicking her cylinder robot finger on the screen, and she muttered something under her breath, though if she was an alien gemstone, she probably didn't every need to breathe. Her weird foot made a whirling sound as a part of it was outlined in a neon green light. A smaller screen detached itself and flew up towards her.

Lars recognized it as the alien name tag he found in the pocket of the suit he stole.

"We are currently attempting to locate the owner," she said. "The off-color gems are bubbled."

"W-what's going to happen to them?"

"They will be shattered."

"What?"

"It's pretty much the gem equivalent of death. That will be all." She clapped twice, saluted, not noticing the look on his face and bowed.

Lars barely managed to salute back, and then 2XR left, leaving him in shock.

When 3XK entered the room again, Lars stumbled over to her and cried.

* * *

He stopped crying.

They were going to get killed, definitely. If those Diamonds thought Steven was his mom because he had the same magic space rock in his belly, then they'd think Stevonnie was too.

3XK had informed him that the Off-colors were not killed - shattered, whatever, same thing really. Not yet, anyway. There was still time. Lars had sighed in relief, though the amethyst luckily didn't notice. There was no way they could escape now, not with Stevonnie injured. He was confused about how they didn't unfuse, despite their wounds, but he just thanked every god he knew the name of.

"Can I check a few things to make sure you're alright, or should I let you rest?"

Lars glanced at the purple gem, rubbing his eyes. "I want to visit Stevonnie. Now. Please."

"Yeah, alright." She picked him up. "We're trying to find out who the ship belongs to now."

Emerald would tell everyone about how he helped steal the ship, and how he was the leader of the Off-colors and then...

He simply focused on breathing, tears falling from his face, yet 3XK said nothing as she carried him across the pink room. The door opened slowly, and Lars finally saw the outside of his room.

It wasn't much different than the room actually. It was the same shades and hues of pink, and Lars grabbed onto 3XK's arm, wondering what would happen when everyone found out about Steven and Stevonnie and Rose Quartz. So far, Stevonnie must have hidden their gem from the gems here.

"What are you doing?"

3XK froze, turning to face whoever spoke, and Lars' heart nearly stopped.

"Blue Diamond," said the amethyst, unable to salute while carrying him in her arms. "The human, Lars, wanted to visit the other human, so..."

Lars recognized her as one of the alien rulers that wanted Steven and his mom dead.

The fifty foot tall gem raised an eyebrow then asked, "Is... he recovering?" She said the word "he" oddly.

Lars didn't pay attention to how she looked before but now he looked at her very carefully.

The dark blue hood covering her head made it hard to see her eyes, but Steven had said they were blue and cold and sad. Her hair was tinted pink by the light reflecting around the hallways, but it was probably blue. He didn't even need to see her eyes to know how she was feeling. Her frown showed that clearly.

"Yes, Blue Diamond."

The diamond nodded, looking at him carefully, her eyes narrowed, and she looked at the smaller gem next to her - Lars identified her as a pearl by only looking at her pointy nose. "Human," she addressed him, her voice echoing and powerful.

He glanced up at her, waiting, nervous.

"Explain how you changed color... and why you no longer need anything to keep you alive." Her eyes were curious, yet cold.

"Well, first, I died," he replied, his voice somehow calm. "Then I came back to life because of magic alien tears. The end."

"Rose Quartz..." she muttered to herself, thinking. She spoke to him. "You died?"

Lars nodded, worried.

She was interested in his story, he realized, watching her carefully. "How... were you killed?"

Lars couldn't answer, because then the memories he lost quickly began to return, flooding his head. He probably should have been killed by whatever Holly Blue did to him. He remembered the sound of his skull hitting the floor, cracking, maybe. He hand traveled to the scar covering his right eye, where a piece of the exploding robot cut through. "I-" He paused, tears beginning to form in the corners of his eyes.

He wasn't sure why he was getting so emotional now, but maybe he's just been hiding how much dying scared him.

"B-blue Diamond?" asked 3XK nervously. "I think... Lars might be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder..."

"What?"

"It's something that can happen after a traumatic event," the gem attempted to explain. "Usually it leads to flashbacks, panic attacks, nightmares, avoiding thing to remind them of the event, things like that."

Even if this fifty foot tall alien gem didn't understand what  _exactly_ that was, she understood it enough to realize she shouldn't ask that question so soon. "Oh." She began to walk away.

"Do you want to go back?" 3XK asked.

Lars shook his head. He had to see Stevonnie. He felt a bit dizzy.

The amethyst raised an eyebrow, then she shook her head, placing a hand on his shoulder gently. "Hey, Lars-"

"Please, I need to see them."

"No, you're not going anywhere until you calm down." 3XK's voice was kind yet firm, her eyes were showing her worry. She set him down on the cold floor, allowing Lars to curl up, his head spinning.

He stayed there for a long time.

* * *

"Stevonnie?!" Lars called when 3XK left the room, and he stumbled over towards the pink bed on the other side of the room. The metallic - or stone, maybe? - floors felt chilly under his bare feet, that were covered in little cuts and bruises, but he ignored the pain, taking another step forward. By now his memory was almost completely returned, leaving him with the memory of the hybrid fusion screaming when the agate's electric whip lashed their face. 3XK told him that they had completely recovered from that wound, no doubt healed by their, or maybe Steven's, healing powers.

He finally stumbled close enough to grab onto the side of their bed to see them covered by the same purple blanket. Their dark eyes fluttered open, though he didn't think they had been sleeping. The fusion's face had a huge smile on it, and they pushed themselves up so that they could sit. The blanket fell down onto the cool floor below, and they stretched casually then pointed to their stomach, where a scarf covered the gemstone imbedded in them. "How much time do we have until they find out?"

Lars didn't expect that to be the first thing that Stevonnie said to him, though he managed to reply, "Until Emerald tells everyone about the ship." He watched as they jumped down from their bed, their legs collapsing under them the second their feet hit the floor. "Are you okay?" He sat down beside them, placing a hand on their shoulder.

"Yeah." Their body glowed a bright white light, starting from their gem, and their body shook violently. They unfused.

Steven rubbed his head for a moment, then he quickly asked, "Connie?" He sounded so scared.

"Steven?" she questioned, as if not sure he was really there, then she quickly embraced him tightly. She was definitely crying, and Lars saw a long, hopefully not deep cut on one of her arms. The girl, who was about thirteen, he remembered, looked tired and weak.

"Lars?!" Steven sounded happy to see him, and he asked quickly, concerned, "Where are the others?"

"No one told you?"

"No!" The boy seemed distressed, probably fearing they were killed.

"They were 'bubbled', and these gems think Stevonnie is just a regular human," he informed the hybrid, his voice tense.

"Yeah, they assumed Stevonnie was regular human because they bleed, but they're a  _fusion_ , Lars." Steven stared nervously at the floor, adding, "Blue and Yellow Diamond will kill them if they find out they have my mom's gem." He rubbed his face, glancing at him fearfully. "The Famethyst - the gems who work here, excluding Holly Blue - they've helped us before. But..." He trailed off.

"But what?"

"Holly Blue might tell them if we try to escape."

"We could try telling the truth."

"What?"

"Tell those diamonds that you're not your mom and find some way to prove it," Lars suggested.

"Gems can't fuse with humans, but I'm not exactly a gem. I'm human too, despite the gem on my belly."

"And?"

"I can't be poofed by a gem destabilizer."

Connie was listening to their conversation, but she didn't say anything until Steven tapped her shoulder gently. "Steven?"

"My mom's sword is in Lars' interdimensional hair, and if the Breaking Point didn't shatter Pink Diamond and my mother's sword isn't capable of shattering..." Steven paused. "Then what happened?"

"Maybe everyone was lying about what they saw?" Connie suggested to the group. "And if pearls are personal servants, couldn't we find Pink Diamond's pearl?"

"Judging by the looks on Blue and Yellow Diamonds' pearl's faces, she might be missing," Steven muttered. "Even if everyone was lying, wouldn't her pearl still be loyal to her?"

"A missing servant wouldn't help us now, she can't tell anyone anything," Lars stated bluntly, his finger tracing the scar over his eye.

Connie flexed her wounded arm carefully, looking thoughtful. "Maybe that was the point?"

There was a long silence after that as everyone sat, glancing at each other, worrying about the future. Lars didn't know much about these alien gems, just basics about quartzes and diamonds and pearls. He sighed, shaking his head slowly.

_What do we do now?_


	3. Lost, but Not Alone

**"Zircon!"**

A loud shout of her name caught Zircon's attention, which was previously focused on reviewing her recently updated profile on her holographic screen floating in front of her. Desperation was laced into the unknown speaker's tone, she noted as she quickly turned off the screen, turning around to find that the destabilizing fields had been put up. The energy coarsing through the fields was intended to separate the protons in a gem's physical form with electrons, but of course it only worked on beings made only or mostly of protons. It was a bit more complex than that, but she didn't really care.

Becoming slightly more confused - and a bit fearful - Zircon stared down the long hallways to see a group of guards running towards her. Cursing to herself, she swiftly adjusted her newly formed clothes, fixing the wrinkles in her sleeves just as the guards rushed pass her.

Glancing up, Zircon noticed at the screen mounted on the wall flashed red and words were displayed in bold letters, describing an unknown entity passing security and entering the building. The creature was described as small and fast, covered in red and blue clothes, and with quartz-like strength.

Tearing her gaze away from the screen, she reopened her screen and searched up Rose Quartz for the fifth time, trying to find anything new about the strange quartz. Refreshing the page, all that came up was:

**This gem is to be assumed armed and dangerous. If spotted, destabilize this gem's physical form and encase in a bubble. Shatter if necessary.**

**Gem Type: Quartz**

**Subtype: Rose Quartz**

**Facet: GX3**

**Cut: ZX1**

**Other: This gem is an off-color due to abnormal powers and personality. Do not be tricked.**

Zircon searched through a few more pages on information, found that there was nothing new or useful, and closed it. She quickly searched up her own facet and cut, something she had forgotten to do after reforming in that strange, dark room; she had been all alone there, with only a simple note left by her manager. The note only told her to return to work, mentioning a decrease in work due to an order by their diamond. And that wasn't even the most surprising part.

Rose Quartz - or, maybe that creature she defended wasn't even her - had escaped.

Blinking, realizing she was getting distracted, she looked at the screen, searching for information about herself. The information on her most recent trial was limited, with there being no verdict. Rose Quartz's whereabouts was listed as unknown, as were the human's, though it was most likely dead.

She sighed.

She was already nervous about the invader, but she didn't realize how bad this threat was until she looked up at the screen a second time. A large four was on the corner of the screen, informing everyone about how dangerous the threat was considered.

This meant that there was a level 4 threat in the area. Five was the worse it could get. But, she reasoned, that could simply be because of the importance of this building.

Zircon knew she had nothing to worry about - an invader wouldn't bother attacking a zircon, since she was merely a lawyer, not a warrior. Still, she had a gem destabilizer stored inside her gem for self-defense purposes, gifted to her by her manager, a type of garnet known as Uvarovite.

Of course, Zircon never had to use Uvarovite's gift, but it was nessesary that she was given a weapon to subdue violent gems if needed.

She placed a hand in her gem.

_Nothing to worry about..._

_Nothing at all,_ she thought, pacing back and forth to calm herself.

She flinched when she heard footsteps, followed by someone's voice, complaining about something and sounding confused. Becoming confused herself, she walked towards the stranger, noting that their voice sounded familiar. Very familiar.

She stopped.

Zircon screamed as she was suddened tackled to the floor by someone.

Short arms wrapped around her body, tightly squeezing her as she struggled to understand what was happening. Her attacker was strong, their strength easily surpassing all of the common quartzes, she realized as she started to panic more, realizing just who the attacker was.

The invader.

For a second, she couldn't move. She was going to be shattered, right here, right now, and when Zircon realized this, she began to tremble violently. A cold feeling of fear filled her as she shook in horror. She flailed around in vain for a moment, trying to push the invader away.

The invader still had her pinned down on her back against the cold floors, leaving her unable to move even if she wanted to. Struggling to break free from the invader's grasp, she grabbed the back of the stranger's shirt, attempting to rip them off of her. The invader's warm breath brush against her face, causing her to nearly loose her grip on them.

They softly yelped in fear, letting go of her suddenly. Zircon's grip loosened, causing them to go flying a short distance away from her. Taking only a brief moment to think about how she was nearly shattered, she quickly summoned her gem destabilizer.

The weapon crackled in her hands, the metal cold, even against her gloved hands, and in between the prongs of the device a glowing orb sat, burning and glowing.

Zircon lunged forward, stabbing the invader in the arm with her gem destabilizer, acting on instinct alone.

They screamed, and she instantly recoiled, removing the destabilizer, her eyes wide with horror.

"Rose?!"

The small quartz lay on the cold floor, clenching her wounded arm tightly, her face pale. A dark red liquid flowed slowly from the wound, dripping onto the blue floor as Zircon stared in shock. She was clearly hurt in other ways besides the wound she had given her - she lay there, trembling and with her eyes tightly shut. Pale yellow lines from the destabilizer remained on her arm for a moment longer, before fading. Even then, a faint outline of the marks remained for a bit.

A weak, tiny smile appeared on her face. "Hey, Zircon."

"You were the invader?"

The small quartz nodded weakly, moving her uninjured arm to clench her other arm in pain. She started to push herself up with her elbow.

"And the one who called my name?"

Rose nodded again, now sitting quietly on the floor, her breathing rapid. She absentmindedly stared at the crimson liquid dripping from her wound, dazed. She glanced around nervously, then she focused her attention on Zircon. Finally, she whispered, "You're okay."

Zircon rolled her eyes. "Not with you tackling me like you just did." She paused, adding, "But, yes, I am not in danger of being shattered." She walked closer to her (former?) client, staring at the red liquid in confusion. The quartz seemed worried about the liquid, she noted as she watched Rose attempt to wrap the wound with a strip of fabric in her pocket. The small gem muttered something to herself, sounding a bit worried.

The marks had completely faded now.

With a sigh, Zircon removed some cloth she had stored in her gem, sitting down beside the other gem.

Rose glanced at her in confusion, but said nothing as she helped her to bandage the injury. She nodded in thanks, watching as Zircon removed a towel from her gem.

Zircon stared at the injury - two deep puncture wounds - confused. Gems did not - what was this? A strange red liquid? - leak red when attacked, and they didn't whimper in pain at the slightest touch, their injury surrounded by a pale red ring. She finally decided to simply press the soft towel against the quartz's wound, using her other hand to begin to wrap the puncture wound up. Rose attempted to assist her, grabbing one end of the fabric, but the gem winced and her arm dropped to the floor.

Glancing at the floor, noticing the puddle of red on the floor, Zircon sighed. She quickly wiped up the liquid. They might notice the stain later, but she didn't care.

"What is this?" she questioned, half to herself.

"Blood. I'm bleeding, Zircon," Rose whispered softly, her voice holding a hint of fear. The small gem stared up at her with wide, pained eyes, begging her for help.

"Oh." She would have to search that up later. "We need to leave." Perhaps she could explain her diamond about this and that little thing Rose had blurted out in that room. About her gem and that she(?) had to be the one to pay for this.

Zircon stared down at the small gem, wrapping her arms around - she was heavy, even for a quartz - and picked her up, her body trembling. "Alright..." she said. "I know a place where you can stay until I sort this mess out, okay?"

"Umm... okay?"

Zircon bubbled her, and the quartz blinked in surprise.

_"Zircon!"_

Zircon tapped the bubble.

_So, does this make me a rebel now?_

Shaking her head, she ran towards the nearest warp pad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And then Zircon and Steven have awesome space adventures, including Zircon being put on trial for "illegal possession on an alien species(Steven)" and Lars calling Green/Yellow Zircon a "rotten green bean".


	4. Clouds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pink Diamond discovers a power.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not 100% sure were this was going...
> 
> It's kinda incomplete.

"What?"

Pink Diamond stared up with wide eyes at her fellow diamonds, hardly daring to hope.

They were standing in the second floor of the Diamond Base on one of Blue's moons; the device in the center was turned off. The room was almost silent.

"Well..." Yellow finally said, instantly catching her attention, " _she_  did have a point - you would learn better if you had the opportunity for firsthand experience." The larger diamond looked down at her with what Pink thought was a mix of concern and annoyance, but she didn't care.

"Eeee!" Pink let out a high-pitched squeal at the confirmation, feeling an almost intoxicating bliss forming deep inside her. It was a warm, bubbly feeling of love that she had never felt before. Finally, someone actually listened to her, didn't ignore her, dismissively wave their hand and tell her to be quiet. Finally, she could get want she wanted!

"Thankyouthankyou!" she quickly shouted, the words blurring together, but she didn't give a damn because she was getting a colony! Giggling to herself, she whispered, "It's about time."

Blue and Yellow looked down at her, looking amused and slightly tired, respectively.

She ran up to the two other diamonds, staring up at them with wide pink eyes, and she hugging them as best as she could. Blue and Yellow both seemed surprised, but Pink didn't really care at the moment.

Stepping back, she quickly asked, "So, what will it look like? Is it big? Is the there life there? What kinds of gems could I grow there? Quartzes? Rubies? Topazes? Lapis Lazulies?"

Neither of them replied to her questions, though Blue chuckled.

Eyes shut, Pink tried to imagine what it would be like to finally have a colony. She bounced slightly, still giggling happily.

"Pink."

She opened her eyes at the sound of Blue's voice. The floor seemed a bit too far away.

Oh stars, it was! "Oh," was the only thing Pink could think to say when it fully registered to her that her feet weren't touching the ground. Her body was hovering a few inches above the floor. "I can float," she noted.

"This... is interesting," Yellow commented, before being cut off by Pink's sudden shouting.

"OH MY STARS!" she screamed. "I can float!" She slowly descended to the ground. Quickly, she leaped into the air again, jumping higher, so she could look Yellow and Blue in the eye.

Weightless was a funny feeling, she decided. It was a bit like using a warp pad, but really different too.

The two other diamonds looked at her as she grinned proudly, hands on her hips. Blue's blue eyes were widened in surprise, and Yellow seemed surprised too, but...

Suddenly feeling self-conscious, Pink timidly asked, "Is... this bad?" Her face felt warm and there was a weird feeling in her stomach. She slowly floated to the ground, stumbling.

"No," Blue quickly answered, shaking her head.

"Just unexpected. Not bad," Yellow reassured her, her golden eyes drifting to look at Blue. "So, you've awakened your powers."

Pink nodded. "Yeah," she said, which was a lie.

The first power she had gained control of was shapeshifting. And when she discovered that, she had stretched and shifted her form bigger until she was almost as big as Yellow and Blue. Almost. She was still a bit too small, but she had been too tired to grow any larger. Pink had stumbled around, finally painfully falling on her behind, too dizzy and strained to stand up. Slowly, she had became better at it - she could stay big for ten whole minutes without getting tired.

Shapeshifting to make herself bigger was always difficult, because then her physical form would be less dense, thus more easily destroyed. And she would never tell anyone, but she actually had destroyed her physical form one day while bigger. Reforming had felt weird...

Yellow and Blue would probably - not, they didn't pay her much attention, unless she was misbehaving - be slightly horrified to know she might had purposely done this multiple times, because reforming was a peaceful and calm and good feeling.

~~Maybe they wouldn't care.~~

~~They didn't seem to pay her much attention.~~

~~Maybe until now.~~

"So, what caused this?"

Pink was startled from her dark thoughts by Blue's voice.

"Uh... Happiness?" she muttered with a shrug and a snort of laugher.

Judging by the looks on their faces, her joke was being taken a bit too seriously. Blue frowned.

Her face felt hot, and quickly added, "Like, intense bliss, that's, like really super intense." She tried to laugh normally. "What? Did you think I meant it like that..." She trailed off, because she did mean it like that, in a way, and she was a bad liar.

That feeling in her gut returned, burning and cold and sickening. Shame, fear, what did she have to be so damn talkative, she shouldn't have said that, let it drop, sorry, change the subject, laugh it off, do something!

"Ummm... anyway," she began, before realizing she didn't know what to say.

Yellow raised an eyebrow.

She nervously chuckled, sputtering out, "So... what next?"

The two other Diamonds glanced at each other; Blue whispered something to Yellow; she nodded.

Pink Diamond tilted her head to the side, frowning. What did she say?


	5. Untitled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It began when Jasper Facet 9 Cut 7XL - known as Skinny by everyone else - was summoned by her Diamond. She then witnessed her Diamond true opinion on the Kindergarten, and before she knew it, she found herself trusted with the Rebellion's darkest secret...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hah, so funny story:  
> when I started writing this I was going to make it a trollfic w/ a horribly written make-out scene for the s**** and giggles, but that didn't happen, as you can see.  
> I can't write joking make-out scenes... They end up having plots...
> 
> I even wrote it in Comic Sans in the document.
> 
> Imma just post this here

###  Hey. :3

“Greetings, “ Pink Diamond said to her, crouching down so that she could more easily look at her. Her diamond reached a hand forward to place a finger under her chin, pushing her head up so that the slender jasper had no choice but to meet her gaze. Her unorthodox eyes peered down at her with curiosity, and she found herself shaking under such a powerful gaze.

Pink Diamond tilted her head slightly at her trembling form, then she shook her head. “At ease, Jasper Facet 9 Cut 7XH.”

The jasper frowned slightly at the command.  _I'm not supposed to look like this_ , she thought as the diamond let her gaze travel down her, examining her malformed body in not disgust, but something different.

Jasper finally let her arms drop from the salute she had been holding, her muscles tense.

“At ease, Jasper,” her diamond repeated with a bit more force. She used one of her hands to gently pat her head. She was strong, she noticed, very strong.

Jasper was very confused about this. She had no idea why her diamond had summoned her, especially if it wasn't related to her defect. Her physical form was hugely deformed, way too slender for a quartz soldier and her gemstone, located on her navel had be formed under too little pressure. The stone, rather than being diamond-shaped with four facets, was smooth and round.

And yet, her diamond didn't appear to be bother by any of that.

The diamond rose to her feet suddenly, turning around.

Jasper flinched.

But the large gem that towered above her simply walked over to her throne and plopped down. Her expressionless pearl, wearing a similar outfit to her diamond, glanced over at her.

“I do hope you remember that everything you hear and see here with be kept confidential, right?”

Jasper nodded. “Yes, my Diamond.”

“Everything in the Beta Kindergarten was supposed to be a dud,” Pink Diamond bluntly told her after a moment. “And yet...” She exhaled a heavy breath, gesturing to her. “...here you are.” The pink gem looked apologetic, her gaze not meeting her copper one, and Jasper felt guilt begin to bubble in her.

There was a heavy silence, before Jasper managed to ask, “I'm sorry? My Diamond?” She gave her a quick salute.

“Please don't,” Pink Diamond told her, her voice strained.

Jasper just stood there, puzzled.

“You don't need to salute to me here,” she elaborated in a softer tone. “And you don't need to be sorry...” She frowned, then she whispered, “I was the one who approve the Kindergarten; I... make a mistake.”

Before she could say anything to reassure her diamond, she continued, “The Beta Kindergarten was formed in  _sandstone_. While it's easy to terraform, it's not the best for growing gems.” She leaned over the side of the chair, and told her pearl in a casual tone, “Could you bring up some things, Pearl?”

Her pearl looked up. “Pardon?”

“Could you show the timelapse of it's construction, please?

“Certainly, my Diamond.”

A glowing picture suddenly appeared in front of Jasper. The blue tinted image began to move and change, and Jasper realized she was watching the her Kindergarten's formation.

She stared at it in awe. “ _Woah..._ ” she whispered to herself.

“I know.” And Jasper twitched, glancing up at her diamond in alarm. She simply had a small grin on her face as she watched the projection. The diamond let out a small snort of laughter, and Jasper realized that her mouth had been hanging up. She shut her mouth

Pink Diamond watched her, and Jasper felt her face heat up.

And honestly, Jasper thought she was beginning to understand the human concept of a goddess.

Because Pink Diamond was a goddess. She was powerful and unstoppable and in had a major role in their existance. Also, goddess were described as pretty.

But Jasper was still confused by this whole thing. Why had her diamond invited  _her_  here, into her palanquin, to discuss the Beta Kindergarten's failure? Shouldn't she had summoned a peridot instead?

Her diamond watched the projection more closely now, watching as the off-color gems began to emerge.

Slowly, her diamond began to frown again, and Jasper realized that the joy of watching the Kindergarten was short lived.

Her pearl looked up at her, her blue eyes showing concern. “Shall I stop the projection, my Diamond?” she quietly asked.

“I'm... not sure.”

“Are you alight, my Diamond?”

“I think,” Pink Diamond said absentmindedly.

 _Should I leave?_  Jasper thought.

The pearl hesitated, then asked, “Are you okay?”

“Maybe?” the diamond said, taking a shaky breath to calm herself. As she watched this happen, Jasper wondered if she had been forgotten about.

Her diamond suddenly looked exhausted, sliding down in her chair with a sigh, lazily blinking her eyes. Slowly, Jasper began to notice the dark rings around her eyes and her ruffled hair with tufts sticking out in different directions. Dealing with the Rebellion, she realized, was very taxing on her diamond.

Grimacing, she told her, “I apologize.” Jasper stared at her in shock, because  _a diamond apologized to a quartz,_ while she added, “I need a moment.”

“Please leave.”

Jasper nodded, then walked away, dazed.

Stepping out of her diamond's palanquin, she couldn't help but to glance back.

Walking down the steps slowly, she stepped into the small cavern that held her palanquin, surrounding it on three sides. Even in the shadows, Jasper could see the towering striped walls that stretched up to the ceiling. A light shone through the winding passage that lead outside.

Jasper quickly walked out of the cavern, blinking when the harsh sun blinded her. She held a hand up to shield her eyes.

She quickly saw quite a few gems, some of which were coming towards her.

“Hey!” called one of the other jaspers pointing to her. “It's Skinny!”

There were a few cheers.

“Oh, cool, she's alive.” This came from 7XL, one of the gems on her row.

Jasper – no, Skinny – nodded. “Yeah,” she said, trying to keep her voice calm.

One of the biggs jaspers ran up to Skinny, her eyes gleaming as she asked, “What happened?”

“Uh,” she muttered, suddenly feeling nervous. Trying to keep her cool, Skinny said, “Not much. I can't tell ya the details.” She shrugged, blinking her eyes and watching as her friends seemed disappointed.

The biggs jasper frowned, but then she questioned, “Were you  _told_  not to speak about it?”

“Yeah, I was,” she told her.

“Lame...”

There was a short silence.

“Does she hate us?” asked one of the smaller quartzes hesitantly. At this, all of the others stiffened, exchanging glances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :3


End file.
